Gaming

The Shadowrun video games I think are really good "starter" rpgs. They're a lot of fun, plus the setting of Shadowrun is fascinating, and wanting to explore it and learn more really gets you invested. Although the third game in the trilogy is the best, I would actually start with the second game. Its still an excellent game, but playing it before the third game showcases how much they improved almost every aspect. Also although its a "trilogy", each game is its own story. The only connection is the shared setting/world. In summary, play Shadowrun: Dragonfall, then Shadowrun: Hong Kong. Have fun!

How about: Stardew Valley, Dwarf Fortress, Legends of Grimrock or Rift Wizard? Vastly different genres though.

@d3fc0n1 I’ll never not recommend Dwarf Fortress

Slay the Spire!! It's all single player but it's a ton of fun. It's a single player deck building card battle game. I've got nearly 2000 hours in it. Very light weight to run, and that computer can definitely run it.

Have you heard of stardew valley? Its a calm 2d farming sim that has some combat and a lot of interpersonal relationships with the villagers pf your town.

Rimworld is a great game and will run on your laptop.

As an RPG game I think Neverwinter Nights is worth taking a look (you might have even played it when it was brand new) There is an enhanced edition that was first published a few years back that among other things, brought back online gaming without having to mess around. I think the community fits the bill nicely and in some groups you might not even be among the oldest.

Although you can play it solo, it's at multiplayer where it shines. Also, apart from official content, there's a ton of community content, some of it far better than official one.

Factorio has been also mentioned. Think of puzzle / problem solving / logistics / base building kind of game. There's a playable demo (probably >10 hours worth of content but I can't say for sure, I didn't need so long to decide it was my thing) so you can check it out before purchasing.

Additional info :

• First game, try to go in as blind as possible (no tutorial/videos, walkthroughs, ...) You can only beat the game for the first time /without prior knowledge once
• You can find the game referred as cracktorio. For many, the main cost of the game is not the purchase, but the electricity needed to run it for so long
• You can play it without bitters (enemies) so there's no rush in completing it. You just build as you see fit

I would also add Minecraft, Terraria, Stardew Valley for the chill factor.

You shouldn't have problems with any of these games on your laptop.

Into The Breach is turn based, so if you like old RPG turn based combat, you’ll feel comfortable. The graphics are very retro as well.

You control mechs fighting against giant bug enemies. The game can be more of a puzzle, as your mechs have different abilities that aren’t always obvious how they’d be beneficial.

The game is very short and encourages replays. You can mix and match different mechs to form different squads.

Terraria!

Stardew Valley is a stress-free game and runs on anything. Maybe look into Terraria as well.

I'm assuming by first person war games, you mean the well-known first person shooters, such as Call of Duty, Battlefield, Arma, etc.

Have you already played the Bethesda Games: Morrowind, Oblivion, Skyrim, Fallout 3, Fallout New Vegas, Fallout 4? These should most likely run on your system, als the last one came out 8 years ago, however they do feature real-time combat.

Other than that, the older Final Fantasy games are now on Steam and should run on your system, such as Final Fantasy X. Depending on the game, they feature turn-based combat, so you can leave at any time, if that is what you meant by synchronous gaming.

There are also the classic more sandbox games, such as Minecraft or Stardew Valley.

Then there is the narrative driven games, such as To the moon.

Most 2d RPGs, such as Bastion, Binding of Isaac, Transistor, etc. should also work on you system, but they almost always feature fast paced combat, which might be too stressful, depending on your definition of too much stress.

For better recommendations on what your system can run, it's probably best to post your Laptop model, or at least the CPU Model, as the first i7s do date back quite a few years ago. Also, as there exists a lot of games, it's helpful to specify a bit more what you're into, such as Open World, Turn-based Combat, etc.

Project Zomboid! Easily one of the most feature rich zombie games I have ever played. It's basically "the Sims" on steroids with zombies.

Your laptop should be able to handle it easily. It takes a while to figure things out, but you can tweak the zombie settings to your preference. It also has a multiplayer option if you're looking for a community while playing.

Things that are a bit outside of your usual zone but are my personal chill favorites and might be enjoyable to look into (they're all on Steam): RimWorld, Banished, Above Snakes, Factorio, Age of Wonders, Pillars of Eternity

• Baldur's Gate: A classic and relatively chill game, with a more or less functional multiplayer. Be an old timey DnD adventuring party going on a quest, kill gnolls by the dozen, and careful you don't blow up your own party with a poorly aimed spell!
• Morrowind: I'll pitch this to everyone because I'm one of those fangirls who can't get through the day without mentioning it at least once. It is first person but it doesn't play like a shooter at all. One of the best RPGs ever made imo with incredible lore and one of the best magic systems ever made, just have to get past some of the dated mechanics.
• Planet Crafter: It is still a bit clunky (really small dev team I think just 2 people) but getting to watch the world change as you terraform it is really rewarding. Pacing is fairly slow it is a good calm game.
• Loop Hero: Fascinating story. Solid roguelike with a quick gameplay loop.
• Contraption Maker: Rube Goldberg machines the game! You're given partially completed machines and a box of parts to try and complete them. There is a custom level creator and you can share levels with people.
• Vampire Survivor: Bullet hell style game but you're the murder machine fighting hordes of monsters. Very minimalist controls makes for good brain-off gameplay (pretty much all you do is use joystick to place yourself and the weapons auto-attack). Lots and lots of references to other games especially yesteryear classics in the Castlevania genre.
• Don't Starve / Don't Starve Together: Single / multiplayer. Servers can be run with asynchronous gameplay. I don't have a lot of experience with the public servers but playing with friends is great fun. It is a survival horror crafter type game with a cutesy art style. It can be both relaxing and incredibly manic at times.

I'll tell you one thing, I just lost The Game...

Dwarf Fortress!

"Hexcells Infinite" is a great stress-free (and cheap) game. It plays like Minesweeper, but every puzzle is completely solvable with just logic (there is never a need to guess!)

Tales of Maj Eyal is an oldschool turn based roguelike game that is free to play (with paid DLCs or steam edition) and should run just fine on your system. It has an adventure mode that lets you play with no punishment for dying for a more stress free experience. It also has a global in-game chat with others who are playing the game, despite it being a single player roguelike, which is kinda cool for that community aspect.

Hypnospace Outlaw is a fantastic game about exploring an alternate version of the internet as it was in the 90's, only this one is accessed via headsets when asleep. It sounds weird, but is super chill, and hits the nostalgia pretty hard. It feels like its own community all by itself!

I'm not seeing anyone mention Undertale. I wouldn't say the community is older, but it fits the bill for RPGs, is almost universally acclaimed, the soundtrack is amazing, and the game is only particularly difficult if you want it to be.

Cities Skylines is often the perfect game for me to just zone out and chill, it surely didn't run on a smooth 60 fps for me on my i7 laptop with no gpu but it performed well enough for me.

I just like to spend a couple of hours laying new railroads and streets and just expanding my city, be aware though the game can be a timesink if you're not careful.

https://geoguessr.com is my crack.

You could try StarSector from Fractal Softworks. Its not free but an awesome game for what you may be looking for.

Starsector (formerly “Starfarer”) is an in-development open-world single-player space-combat, roleplaying, exploration, and economic game. You take the role of a space captain seeking fortune and glory however you choose.

If you're into horror and lovecraftian imagery, the first Darkest Dungeon might be a great fit.

In essence, you have to recruit teams of characters to send on missions, in order to get resources to upgrade these characters and build up the dilapidated hamlet your ancestor left behind.

It doesn't require quick reactions. Its turn based, and you have all the time in the world to make your next choice. It is a great example of turn based RPG that isn't in the JRPG style. Built around a creative approach to Lovecraftian horror, its also deeply punishing. So expect to lose. A lot.

I don't know if it can run on your computer, but as far as I know it is not the most taxing game. Wholehearted recommendation.

A game I've been getting into recently it's called Mechabellum, it's a autobattler so no reflexes required! Matches are short so I wouldn't really call it stressful unless the idea of losing reaaaaaallly stresses you out. I don't think you should have any issues running it on that laptop, and it's only 15 dollars. While there's choices to be made every round it doesn't feel overwhelming but it's still a deep game that you can sink your teeth into! Good if you like strategic thinking, and you can accept and adapt to consequences and mistakes or even just bad breaks.

Wasteland 3 maybe? Don't need to have played the previous entries to the series.

Turn-based combat, RPG, immersive world, choices have consequences. It sometimes has a puzzle feel to it with different ways to achieve a mission goal, or how you approach a fight.

I recommend Turing complete! Its a puzzle game in which you learn how to make computers.

Its lightweight and written in Godot, plus there is a native Linux build. The gameplay is mostly figuring out how to implement something and you can undo any mistakes (assuming you find them). Might not be exactly what you had in mind, but I still recommend it!